1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to collapsible plugs, designed to fit into cigarette lighter sockets of motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been prior inventions of plugs that can pivot or rotate, but none that are equivalent to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,598, issued on Jun. 28, 1988, to Ivan J. Gignac and Earl J. Fleck, discloses a pivoting electrical contact, comprising a pair of contacts disposed in holes in a retaining member that pivots about a longitudinal centerline. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it has a pair of flat members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,152, issued on Aug. 19, 1997, to Edwin Joseph Selker, discloses a three-prong swivel plug, with male and female plugs that pivot about a common axis between first and second positions. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it has a pair of flat members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,171, issued on Oct. 28, 1997, to Seon-Kyu Park, discloses a pivotable multiple pin cable connector, with a housing defining a turning hollow, and a head with a lower portion inserted into the hollow of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,310, issued on Dec. 7, 1999, to Pen-Li Chiu and Wen-Chin Chien, discloses a swivel electric plug, with a base block with grooves into which annular metal plates are fastened, and a circular cover plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,874, issued on Jul. 18, 2000, to Erwin K. Kroulik, Richard J. Balaguer and Timothy J. Jones, discloses a rotatable electrical connector, that allows for limited twisting movement between cables or cords coupled to it, by absorbing such twisting movement in shunts inside the connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,180, issued on Feb. 20, 2001, to Kim Purington, Jeffrey Powers and Robert J. Wright, discloses a swiveling electrical connector, comprising male and female coupling assemblies which rotate relative to each other when connected.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,142, issued on Apr. 22, 2003, to Kenneth D. Eisenbraun, discloses a vehicle cigarette lighter connector, having a barrel insertable into a cigarette lighter socket, a body pivotably secured to the barrel, and a cable extending from the body. The body also includes a female connector. A pair of pivotably connected flat members, as in the instant invention, is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,513, issued on Feb. 3, 2004, to Hsiu-Chu Hsu Li, discloses a device for attaching a portable phone to a vehicle, having a generally cylindrical plug that can fit into a cigarette lighter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,297, issued on Mar. 23, 2004, to Dominic Lee, discloses a multi-directional swiveling outlet adaptor, including a plug assembly for connecting to a power source, and a multiple outlet module rotatably coupled to the plug assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,734, issued on Sep. 7, 2004, to Chun-Chain Yu, discloses an electrical adapter with a foldable housing having two parts that are pivotably connected at their ends. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it has two flat members that are pivotably connected about a axis midway between the long edges of each member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,743, issued on Sep. 7, 2004, to Yea Yen Huang, discloses a connecting hub assembly having a universal joint, with a housing having a first connector, and a joint device having a second connector, with the joint device pivotably attached to the housing.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0023520, published on Feb. 5, 2004, to Tavis D. Schriefer, discloses connector devices that provide multiple degrees of freedom of motion between a first connector head and additional connector heads and/or electronic devices. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it only provides one degree of freedom of motion between two flat members configured for insertion in a cigarette lighter plug.
Japanese Patent No. 11-214099, published on Aug. 6, 1999, to Norio Kato, discloses a plug that can fit into a cigarette lighter, which is pivotably connected to holder into which a cellular telephone can be plugged.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.